*** CORRECTED EDITION ***WELCOME TO THE YEAR 2072...And a world unlike anything you've ever imagined. A world where magic and machines exist side-by-side. Where cybernetics can replace organs or entire limbs with ease, and arcane spells can make the impossible happen. Where the Matrix has become an artificial world of its own, filled with all kinds of pleasure, treasure, and trouble. Where dwarfs, elves, orks and trolls walk alongside human...

Most people think blockchain is about cryptocurrency. It isn't. At its core, blockchain is an operating system for digital trust. The Blockchain Operating System explains blockchain from the ground up through systems thinking rather than technical complexity. Instead of beginning with wallets, mining, or speculation, the book begins with a simple question: How can strangers trust one another without relying on a central authority? From that foundation, readers are guided through the archit...

Danny Winston, America's newest heartthrob, thinks he can have it all—his dream business and the girl. He's sure he can convince Shelly, the woman who made it all possible, to marry him. When things keep going wrong, Danny can't ask her to be a partner in failure.Shelly Colter isn't sure she can give up her California-style life with all the glamour, for a move to quaint, rural Wisconsin. At first, she thought Danny, her leading-man protégé, was all she needed, but when things get s...

Crazy Creek, Wyoming saves Leah Hanes's life. Running on fumes and bald tires, she thanks heaven for the Wimmers who recommend her to the Rocking J Ranch as a winter cook. Leah arrives to discover the ranch and the people need more than a cook.Noel Johansen, heir of the Rocking J, happily left for the big city years ago. When he loses his family in a terrible accident, the best thing for everyone is to sell the place, ditch the memories, and move on. But his brother-in-law has other...

Artificial intelligence is often discussed as a single tool: a chatbot, image generator, search assistant, or productivity application. But AI is becoming something much larger. It is increasingly embedded in software, businesses, institutions, physical infrastructure, and the systems people rely on every day. Understanding AI therefore requires more than learning how to write prompts or use the latest application. It requires seeing the full operating system forming around it. In The AI O...

Don't just survive after your divorce --- WHY NOT THRIVE!Divorce has often been compared to surviving a traumatic event such as a car accident, a tornado, or a death.The Surgeon General reports that somewhere between 30-40% of people going through divorce show signs of depression and/or anxiety.While there's no doubt a divorce is difficult, you can take comfort that these numbers indicate that somewhere between 60-70% of people going through a divorce don't experien...

When Lisa returns home on Halloween night, the porch light is already on. Inside, a family she has never seen before is moving through her house as if they belong there. A woman opens the kitchen cabinets. A child sits on the rug. A man waits at the table. Upstairs, someone turns on the shower. Lisa tells them to leave. They don't. They are calm. Polite. Almost reasonable. And that is what makes them so frightening. As trick-or-treaters gather outside and her calls for help keep failing, L...

Just when Isabelle thinks her life can’t get any worse, something happens to her at school that makes her wonder how she can continue to look after her younger siblings, Evan and Maisie, work at the local mini-mart and deal with her alcoholic mother. It’s more than any sixteen-year-old should have to bear, but Isabelle can’t think of a way out that won’t hurt her brother and sister.When Isabelle punches a girl at school, only one teacher sees past Isabelle’s aggressive behavior. Ch...

From furry pets to mighty wild animals, mammals are one of the most familiar and diverse groups on Earth. This book introduces readers to the key features that define mammals, including hair or fur, warm-blooded bodies, and the ability to nurse their young. Clear, accessible text explains how mammals are similar and different from one another, the basic mammal life cycle, and how mammals have adapted to varied habitats around the world. With vivid photos and engaging facts, this book helps...

Some people spend their lives waiting for happiness to arrive. Others discover it was never somewhere else. In the quiet community surrounding Frog Creek, one woman moves through ordinary days with unusual attention. She notices what others overlook: the light on the water, the pauses between conversations, the small moments that quietly shape a life. As friendships deepen, unexpected relationships form, and familiar routines begin to reveal something larger beneath them, she slowly comes ...

Artificial intelligence is changing the nature of work, creativity, education, leadership, and everyday life. As machines become increasingly capable, one question rises above the rest: What remains uniquely human? The Human Advantage OS argues that the future does not belong to those who compete with machines at what machines do best. It belongs to those who strengthen the qualities technology cannot make abundant. Drawing on systems thinking, leadership, psychology, business, and philoso...

Plague has no favorites.In this anthology, USA Today, international bestselling, and award-winning authors imagine a world where anyone—rich, poor, young, old—might be well in the morning and dead by sundown.Readers will follow in the footsteps of those who fought to rebuild shattered lives as the plague left desolation in its wake.* An Irish woman tends her dying father while the Normans threaten her life and property—* A Hispano-Muslim doc...